Evidence for God from Science Newsletter October, 2001

Greetings in the name of the Lord! This is the latest edition of the update for
the Evidence for God from Science website. Here is the news and recent additions
to the site.

News

The big news last month, of course, was the terrorist attack on the United
States. Atheists claim that such acts of terrorism are the result of religion
and belief in God. As Christians, we understand that there will always be people
that claim to be doing the will of God, while doing exactly the opposite. These
acts are just another example to support the Christian worldview that sin is a
basic character trait of all people. The non-Christians at my workplace wanted
immediate revenge, including those who suggested that we attack all Arab nations
in the Middle East. The New Testament says that we should pray for our enemies
(Matthew 5:44). The events of the last month made our complaints and "important"
matters seem rather insignificant in comparison. Some of my thoughts on "where
was God" can be found below:

On the local front, Mark got his cast off, two weeks before school started. He
had broken both bones in his lower right arm by falling off some playground
equipment in June (at Vacation Bible School). We all like to spare our children
from pain, but even through these "negative" experiences, we learn important
lessons for life. Mark learned what it was like to be physically disabled, and
how even the simple things in life, like getting dressed were difficult without
the use of both hands. One day, Andy complained about how long Mark was taking
to get dressed (we were waiting to go out), so I suggested that he try getting
dressed using only one hand. Andy subsequently discovered that the task was much
more difficult than it sounded.

Apologetics

Humanists claim that people are "basically good." However, a great experiment
performed in the last century definitively demonstrated the sinfulness of entire
generations among an entire people group. The experiment was called Communism.
The basic tenet of Communism is that all people would share equally in the
resources of the country. On the surface, that sounds good. In fact, this is
what was practiced by the Christian church during the first century. The problem
with Communism was not the philosophy per se, but the realization by the people
that they would not be rewarded for hard work. It didn't matter how you worked,
you got the same reward. At this point, the sinfulness of man stepped into the
picture and everybody in the Soviet Union became lazy and indifferent to their
responsibilities. This lack of accountability has led to an alcoholism rate of
40% and an abortion rate of nearly 70%! The sinfulness of all humans was
definitely demonstrated in an entire society, so much so, that it led to the
eventual economic collapse of the Soviet Union. Communism failed because humans
are basically sinful, lazy, and self-centered. Included in the essay are other
examples, plus some comments on the recent attack on the United States.

"Does Prayer Influence the Success of in Vitro Fertilization–Embryo Transfer?
Report of a Masked, Randomized Trial" is a new study that examines the effect of
intercessory prayer on in vitro fertilization. According to the authors, "In
planning and conducting this trial in as rigorous a fashion as possible, we set
out with the expectation that we would show no benefit of IP. None of the
authors are employed by religious organizations, and we were not asked by any
religious groups to conduct this trial, nor did we seek religious advice at any
time." However, when the data was finally unmasked, the prayer group had nearly
a doubling in their success rate (50%), which was extremely significant (p
= 0.0013). The authors did not attempt to explain the Cause of the prayer
effect.

Evidence for God from Science has been blessed through the addition of some new
ministry volunteers. Van Fisher has been answering correspondence and doing some
writing for the ministry. In his recent piece, Van examines the roles of reason
and faith in Christianity:

Evolution/Design

Many news sites have played up the idea that NASA scientists have made objects
similar to cell membranes. As one site says, "They have succeeded in creating
cell-like structures spontaneously from simple chemical ices in conditions that
simulate the frigid vacuum of deep space."
Is this claim really true? This paper examines the original article to see if it
measures up to the claim. Have scientists really discovered how life can be
spontaneously assembled in outer space or is this yet another example of
scientific intelligent design under contrived conditions?

It has been argued that the presence of apparently copied, non-functional Deoxyribonucleic acid: the chemical inside the nucleus of a cell that carries the genetic instructions for making living organisms.DNAThe order of nucleotides in a DNA or RNA molecule, or the order of amino acids in a protein molecule.sequences (known as Sequence of DNA that are very similar to normal genes but that has been altered so they are not expressed.pseudogenes) support the theory of evolution and invalidate
the idea that an intelligent Agent created life on earth. This article examines
some of the ways in which Sequence of DNA that are very similar to normal genes but that has been altered so they are not expressed.pseudogenes do not support evolutionary theory and
some of the underlying assumptions implicit in the argument that God would not
design Sequence of DNA that are very similar to normal genes but that has been altered so they are not expressed.pseudogenes.

Free
Online Greeting Cards

A new feature has been added to the site - online greeting cards. Now you can
send your favorite skeptic (or friend or loved one) a beautiful Hubble image
with a note. It is an easy way to introduce your friends to some of the
information on this site.

Those are the most recent updates and changes since the last e-mail update.
If you would like to see anything in particular at Evidence for God from
Science, let me know. Assuredly, the evil man will not go unpunished, But the
descendants of the righteous will be delivered.

In Christ,Rich Deem

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